Natalie Zeleznikar
Natalie Zeleznikar (Republican Party) is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 3B. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 12, 2027.
Zeleznikar (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives to represent District 3B. She declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on August 11, 2026.[source]
Biography
Natalie Zeleznikar was born in Cambridge, Minnesota. She earned a high school diploma from St. Francis High School and a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire in 1991. Her career experience includes working as a healthcare consultant, licensed nursing home administrator, entrepreneur, and small business owner. She has volunteered at community events and with her church.[1]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Committee assignments
2025-2026
Zeleznikar was assigned to the following committees:
- Children and Families Finance and Policy
- Health Finance and Policy Committee
- Rules and Legislative Administration Committee
- Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee
2023-2024
Zeleznikar was assigned to the following committees:
- Children and Families Finance and Policy
- Human Services Finance and Policy Committee
- Workforce and Business Development Finance and Policy Committee
Elections
2026
See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on August 11, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B
Rich Tru (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B on August 11, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| | Rich Tru | |
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Republican primary
Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B
Incumbent Natalie Zeleznikar (R) is running in the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B on August 11, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| | Natalie Zeleznikar | |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2024
See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B
Incumbent Natalie Zeleznikar defeated Mark Munger in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Natalie Zeleznikar (R) ![]() | 50.2 | 13,480 | |
| Mark Munger (D) | 49.7 | 13,321 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 27 | ||
| Total votes: 26,828 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Mark Munger advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Natalie Zeleznikar advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Zeleznikar received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Zeleznikar's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here.
Pledges
Zeleznikar signed the following pledges.
2022
See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B
Natalie Zeleznikar defeated incumbent Mary Murphy in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Natalie Zeleznikar (R) ![]() | 50.0 | 10,813 | |
| Mary Murphy (D) | 49.9 | 10,780 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 31 | ||
| Total votes: 21,624 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Mary Murphy advanced from the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Natalie Zeleznikar advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2024
Natalie Zeleznikar completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Zeleznikar's responses.
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- Making MN Affordable. Democrats passed a mandate in 2023 for wind solar only by 2040. Yet experts warn the grid is NOT build out for this and this timeline is dangerous, and expensive. We need natural gas, diesel, propane and a comprehensive plan with all options not a 100% mandate which will drive costs up, and be unreliable. Experts warn we could see a blackout in MN with this plan by next year. Dismantling the existing grid before technology is affordable is irresponsible and I will continue to work for a diversified energy portfolio.
- Increase Childcare providers. Mn infant care costs 20,000 per year, and many providers have a 2 year wait list. Meanwhile our neighbor states cost 30% less for childcare and our state proposed more mandates on providers. We need a comprehensive overhaul for childcare with reasonable mandates. When family and center providers continue to close and the expenses for their business exceed the revenue, it is time to have major reform. As a member of the Children and Families committee I have toured our district to talk with providers and families and also to explore other models in the state. We can and must do better. Without providers, families and individuals can't work.
- Public Safety. It is time to prioritize public safety rights ABOVE the rights of repeat violent criminals. When repeat violent criminals are receiving sweetheart deals from judges, those living in the community are on high alert. When a bill is authored to eliminate minimum sentencing for a criminal with a gun crime or dangerous weapon- in the Democrat party, ( HF 4277) it is time to restore sanity and balanced government and end one party rule. Catch and release works great for fishing, but not repeat violent criminals in our communities.
Those I represent deserve to have someone who works hard and communicates back to the district what bills are being proposed, and heard at committee and voted on in the House chamber. I wrote articles for the newspapers monthly to communicate, and posted on social media multiple updates weekly on many pertinent topics. It is important to read everything before you vote on it, and to be honest, transparent, and exercise common sense and sensibility. The majority want to see someone who can compromise for solutions and I did just that under one party rule.
To remember, we all have this day, and this day only. Having almost died a few times with breast cancer complications, I don't take anything for granted- and I am all in for whatever I do. I will give it my all each and every day.
It is critical to be competitive to grow the commercial tax base otherwise the entire tax burden falls on our individuals and families. I have not had one person say, "please raise my taxes, or property taxes". They expect tax cuts after a historic 18 billion dollar surplus, and that did not happen.
Financial transparency is critical. I voted against the junk fee bill because it allows the government to blame businesses for laws they pass, and therefore eliminates true financial transparency. I saw many restaurants state at bottom of receipt a % increase to bill due to mandates passed by the state, and now the state forces businesses to bake the cost in the cake as they stated. Simply make the customer believe the cake or burger costs $25 when in fact it does not. The reality is there are costs to mandates and the public deserves to understand what they are, as it affects costs everywhere they turn.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2022
Natalie Zeleznikar completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Zeleznikar's responses.
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- Health Care is Imploding at Nursing Homes, Assisted Livings and Hospitals and staffing and regulations must be addressed immediately. Those who have never ran a 24 hour facility are likely not the ones who should write the policy. I have experience.
- A strong economy with jobs. Jobs come with an attractive state and communities which are business friendly. With jobs and businesses our communities and schools are strong too and all the taxes are not passed to individuals.
- We need childcare providers in every community so families are able to accept job offers. Home based and community based with simplified regulations and mentorship programs for new providers to succeed.
2. Minnesota is one of the highest taxed states and we are not competitive for job creation. Families have less take home pay, and we must end the double taxation for social security. Spending money is easy, we must audit where we spend money first before just agreeing to spend more. Performance based measures must follow money.
My parents were High School Sweethearts, and are still together 55+ years. They demonstrated what love looks like, and were always involved in the community. They worked hard, and laughed often and welcomed our home to many. I was blessed with a firm foundation of unconditional love and support. I was encouraged to become the best version of myself, and to never forget where I came from, and to thank god for every day I was given. I have big shoes to follow.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Minnesota scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from February 12 to May 20.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 3 to May 22.
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See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Officeholder Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 8, 2024
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by - |
Minnesota House of Representatives District 3B 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
= candidate completed the 